Argosy Cruises of Seattle, Washington has the right idea behind Christmas.   Spread some holiday cheer.  Raise a little money and help the needy children in the area.  After all, the spirit of Christmas is about “giving.”

Argosy Cruises, a family-owned and locally-operated Seattle company, is Washington State’s premier cruise company, offering guests public and private cruises and Royal Argosy brunch, lunch, and dinner cruises on the waters of Puget Sound.  Having been in business for more than 57 years, the company has carried over seven million passengers

Cruising at this time of year is the Argosy Cruises Christmas Ship which leads the way in a Puget Sound festival sponsored by The Seattle Times, Key Bank, KING 5 Television, and Starbucks Coffee Company in cooperation with the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation.  The festival helps raise awareness and funds.  A portion of all ticket sales goes to benefit The Seattle Times Fund for the Needy, an annual program that raises money for several charitable organizations and social service providers helping children and families in the Puget Sound area.  Since 1996 Argosy Cruises has raised over $213,000 in donations.

The festival runs nightly from Friday, December 1st, through Saturday, December 22nd.  The Spirit of Seattle, the official Christmas Ship, is decorated with thousands of white lights and other holiday decorations, leading an armada of decorated parade boats and private vessels which will form the world’s largest holiday flotilla in the world.  Each night the flotilla cruises to different waterfront locations where people gather around bonfires to welcome the Christmas ship.  Aboard the ship, each a specially prepared choir will deliver a repertoire of festival music broadcast via speakers to the other boats as well as to those on shore.

If this type of Christmas cruise is just too mild for you, many of the major cruise lines are gearing up to bring in decorators to spread the holiday cheer while enroute to their next destination.  Most of these cruises are bound for the Caribbean.  Maybe I’m just sentimental, but Christmas and Caribbean just don’t seem to go together for me.

Some other cruises to consider which will place you in the middle of Christmas cheer are the “Christmas Market” cruises.  One such cruise is the MS Beethoven from the Danube River cruises.  These are five day cruises beginning and ending in the same ports.  The Vienna cruise is the one I’m sharing with you today.  Embark on a Vienna Christmas Market tour.  Day one begins at 6:00pm.  Settle into your cabin and enjoy a welcome cocktail in the lounge.  This ship has 88 double cabins with shower, television, hair  dryer, radio, safe box, and central heating.  Built in 2004, this ship will take you to an International Christmas market where you’ll find one of the largest productions of crafts, a living Advent calendar, and many fine Slovak hand blown glass creations.  Perhaps I’ll see you at a Christmas Market, some place in the world.  Merry Christmas and Happy Traveling!

(photos are courtesy of Seattle visitors bureau, Christmas Market cruises, and stock.xchange.com.)